


A Gift Freely Given

by TheDefinitionofInteresting



Category: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue Series - Mackenzi Lee
Genre: Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Ghosts, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Sorry, Idiots in Love, M/M, POV Monty, TW: mention of Richard Peele, but the boys go through the ringer, but this time Percy's life depends on it, look you know Monty would not realize an object was obviously haunted if his life depended on it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDefinitionofInteresting/pseuds/TheDefinitionofInteresting
Summary: Monty would give Percy the world if he could. He does what he can on his new lower than low class income. Of course being Monty, his best laid plans always take a turn for the worse. How many supernatural adventures can two men in love go through in their life and why must it always be deadly to one of them?
Relationships: Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17
Collections: TGGTVAV Secret Santa exchange 2020





	A Gift Freely Given

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pinstripedJackalope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinstripedJackalope/gifts).



> I had a fun time writing this for our small server's Secret Santa. I hope my giftee likes it! I thought about this idea when they said they liked ghost/supernatural elements and then I kind of just ran with it. I'm a sucker for angst so it's a bit heavy, but I promise it all ends well! Happy Holidays!

In general, playing cards is not a good source of income. And if I’m honest, getting paid to play cards is not that much more profitable. It  _ is _ something I’m good at though, one of the few things I’m good at, something I can actually do to support myself and Percy, and it keeps bread on the table...sometimes. Most of the time, I work enough that Percy can afford to take a few sick days off from his quartet. On good weeks, we can even buy a few eggs and some rashers to go with the bread, though there are usually more bad weeks than good, with recent projections skewing definitely more towards the bad. 

Definitely more bad.    
  
So when a player at the club bet an ancient looking chain necklace and then proceeded to lose it handily to my impressive skills, along with lots and lots of coin, and my manager gave it to me as a bonus for a job well done, I was in the mind that my luck was looking up. This week was going to be a good one. I’d make sure of it.    
  
Percy had been in bed most of the day, a couple days out from one of his worst fits yet, and as I return home, the necklace jangling in my pocket, I can’t help but be excited to give him something to perk up about. He’s still sleeping as I try my best to enter our dark flat quietly; the stove had gotten the better part of my knee on several occasions this week already and it took all of my willpower not to wake him immediately. He needed his rest and if I was to give a gift of jewelry, I didn’t want it to be covered in the sins of the drunk man who had lost it, also it looked like it needed a good polish.    
  
I light the lamp and sit on the other side of our partition, away from the mattress so as to not wake Percy with the light. The necklace feels heavy under my fingertips and as I had seen earlier, it’s covered in a layer of grime. Under the dirt however is what looks like a fine silver chain, ending in a small pendant. If there was a jewel there once, it was long lost, leaving just a small carved indent, long curlicues and small intricately woven knots creating a pattern in the round metal. It’s beautiful, even with the dirt, and bereft of a sparkling diamond or ruby. I know I should probably sell it, get what little coin I can for the chain of silver and buy food or wood with its bounty. But I can’t help but see the glint of it under the grime, imagine it around Percy’s neck, flashing glimpses of it as he bent over, a gift not half as gorgeous as him, but one I wanted to give anyway.    
  
Who needed food anyway? I would live on nothing but cockroaches and water from the Thames if it made Percy happy. Though he probably wouldn’t be happy if I did that and then promptly expired. This necklace though. It would make Percy happy, and I could be happy to lavish him with a fine gift, as he should be lavished. We can have one fine thing, besides Percy himself, in this ugly flat in the dirtiest part of London.   
  
I find the cleanest corner of my jumper and get to polishing. It only takes the better part of an hour to get it shining the best I can and, with a happy heart and tired shoulders, I place it in my boot, so as to hide it, and collapse in bed. Curling up next to Percy I fall asleep easily, my head swimming with images of him in the necklace, his bright smile coaxing me to dreams.    
  
-   
  
Mornings are usually grey. Clouds perpetually fight against the sun just as much here in the city as they did in the country on my family’s estate. Despite that, the dim rays of sunlight always found their way through my curtains, whether the thick sturdy ones of my youth or the threadbare material we’ve hung here in the flat, straight to my eyelids, rudely waking me up. Today I am glad for it. The light finds its mark and I blink my eyes open, bleary for a moment before I remember. Percy lays next to me, still asleep, and his dark hair is dappled with cloudy light, his eyelashes fluttering softly, mouth turned up in a small smile, even in sleep. I don’t wish to wake him, but I can’t resist a touch. I reach my hand out and brush a loose curl behind his ear, fingers brushing against his cheek gently. He mumbles something unintelligible and smiles before his eyes open and he looks at me.    
  
“Good morning love.”    
  
How does he make me melt  _ entirely _ with just three words? I move my hand to rest against his back, moving in closer to him.    
  
“Good morning Darling. How are you feeling?”   
  
Percy shifts, arm coming up to mirror mine, wrapping around my waist. He yawns adorably and smiles.   
  
“Much better now that you’re home. Did you get any sleep?” He looks to the window, noting the early hour and knowing how late I usually get in.   
  
I nod. “Plenty. I couldn’t possibly sleep anymore, not now that you’re awake. I miss seeing your beautiful eyes.” I know it’s sickeningly sweet but I can’t help it. I am abso-bloody-lutely in love with this man.    
  
Percy chuckles softly and pulls me close. “Come here Monty.” And then he’s kissing me and his chapped lips are all I need to be happy in this world. I would trade a thousand silver necklaces just to get to kiss him once. Thankfully, he loves me and I love him and I get to kiss him whenever I want, otherwise I would be poorer even than I am now.    
  
He pulls away and I want to stop him, but he’s smiling at me and I don’t want to miss that either so I just lay there for a moment, reveling in the kiss and studying his face for the millionth time. I always am astounded that this is actually happening. That I get to spend the rest of my sorry life with Percy, and no one can tear him away from me. Not even me and my stupid decisions. Speaking of…   
  
“Monty?” Percy’s watching me with an amused grin. “Where did you go, love?”   
  
I’m pulled out of my reverie and suddenly sit up. “I got you something.” I push the blanket over and slide out unto the cold floor, the old wood creaking underneath my feet.    
  
Percy laughs. “Monty, what are you doing? What do you mean you got me something?” I glance back at him on my way to the secret hiding space and I can tell he’s slightly worried under his confusion and amusement. I can feel butterflies flapping incessantly in my stomach and I silently curse at them to bloody stop moving.    
  
“I have got you something darling and if you wait just a moment, I’m going to give it to you.” I reach inside the boot by the door, fingers curling around the cold metal. “And no, you’re not allowed to try and talk me out of it. I have decided to give it to you and it is my right to decide, even if it may be a silly decision.” I pull the necklace out, tucking it into my palm and closing tightly around it, before crossing back to the bed and sitting gingerly.   
  
Percy has sat up and his brow is furrowed, a small hesitant smile still plastered on his face. His hair is mussed from the pillow and his shirt is rucked up slightly on the side, showing the curve of his hip bone.  _ No, Monty. That comes later. _ I have to pull my eyes away from their brief journey downwards and then Percy is staring at me again, completely uncertain.   
  
“Monty, what is…”   
  
Before he can ask, I take his hand, turning it palm up and quickly place the necklace there before I chicken out.    
  
“I received this at work. An honest and fair wage, no thieving, I swear,” It is true that I have a slightly checkered past when it comes to taking things that aren’t strictly mine. “I know you’re going to say we should sell it, or save it for when we need the money most, but Percy…” I hesitate, unsure of how to put into words how perfect he’ll look in it, how I can’t bring myself to part with it, how badly I want to give him all the beautiful things in life. My thoughts don’t translate well to words but I try my best, hoping he won’t fight me on it. “...I want you to have it. It’s a gift. I want you to wear it, I wish I could give you more.”   
  
I release his hand and his palm falls open on the bed, the chain dangling from his slim fingers. His eyes go to it and my heart pounds in my chest. What if he didn’t like it? What if he was angry with me for keeping it? I sit in numb silence waiting for his judgement.   
  
Percy moves the chain in his hand. It jingles against itself softly as he runs a finger over it, moving down to the metal indent, tracing the lines. He shifts it from one hand to the other, fingers finding the clasp and undoing it gently. For a moment it looks like he’s going to close it again, his hands moving back together, but then he lifts it up between us. I chance a look at his face and he’s smiling brightly, his eyes shining and cheeks soft with a dark warmth.    
  
“Help me fasten it?”   
  
It takes me a moment to realize. He likes it. He wants me to put it on him. Had I actually done something good? I’m sitting here like an imbecile, frozen with happiness and Percy is looking expectantly at me. Right. I nudge myself out of my shock. My fingers shake as I reach for the necklace, taking the ends from him and I lean forward, hands wrapping around the back of his neck. I wrestle with it for a second, trying to brush Percy’s long hair out of the way, not wanting it to get caught and then, click, it’s done. I pull back, taking it in.    
  
The silver gleams against his collarbone, highlighting the curve of it, just like it had in my dreams. The small pendant moves back and forth as he leans back, his hand coming up to touch it gently. Percy looks up at me and a lock of hair falls across his shoulder, brushing against the chain. It looks like he’s always worn it. As if it was made for him. My eyes travel up from it, to meet his own and I can’t help but smile, despite the nerves still rolling in my gut.   
  
“You’re beautiful…” The words fall out of my mouth and down my lips without my bidding, but they are the truth nonetheless.    
  
Percy smiles fondly back at me, no concern marring his face now.   
  
“You’re an incorrigible romantic Monty Montague. Who knew?” He smirks and then he’s leaning in, his lips suddenly much closer to my own. “I love you, even if you are an idiot sometimes.”    
  
The kiss is somehow better knowing he’s wearing the necklace, and it’s all I can do to not pull him down right there and then and make it so the necklace is the only thing he’s wearing. All the cards are in Percy’s hand however, as am I, as he grips my arm, pulling me in to deepen the kiss, and he breaks it a moment later, obviously not taking his gratitude farther just yet. I don’t mind in the slightest as I am currently floating away to heaven, or wherever a sinner like me is going to go after I perish, as Percy has completely and utterly murdered me with his lips.   
  
I sigh happily and feel like my cheeks will break from the size of my grin. “If I had known you would have kissed me like that, I would have gotten you jewelry much sooner darling.”   
  
Percy huffs out a small laugh and pushes against my chest. “Oh come off it!” He sighs too, leaning back on his hands. “You wouldn’t ever be able to afford me anyway.” He teases back with a smirk. I watch him as he raises a hand to the necklace once more, running his finger along the chain back and forth. “We probably can’t even afford this Monty. Maybe we should-”   
  
“No,  _ no you don’t _ .” I counter, stopping him before he can finish the thought. “No lecturing me or guilting me into selling it. I made the decision to give it to you and I’m standing by it. You can’t convince me otherwise Percy Newton!”   
  
“Alright, alright.” He chuckles. “I do love it Monty, thank you.” His hand drops back to his side. “Just don’t make it a habit. I know you want to shower me in jewels but I only need this, this is perfect, nothing else will do.”   
  
I feel the heat rise in my chest, pride overwhelming me. “Good. I didn’t want to set the bar too high anyway. You never know, you could just be dating me for my vast and immeasurable wealth and title. I haven’t the heart to tell you that I’ve given it all up dear boy.”   
  
“You’re ridiculous.” He lays back down on the bed, his undershirt now definitely falling further up on his stomach than should legally be allowed. “Come here.” He gestures for me, his eyes glinting in the dim light, the necklace falling back across his beautiful neck. “I think you might need more sleep.”   
  
A shiver goes down my spine and I smile slyly back at him, crawling back under the blanket and into his arms.   
  
“You know darling, I think you might be right.”   
  
-

  
Percy is sick. I’m sure of it. He’s doing his damned best to hide it from me, but it’s impossible not to hear him get up in the night to wretch, even with my bad ear. He always comes back to bed, thinking I’m still asleep, and I can hear him shudder as he curls back under the blanket. It’s been this way the past two nights. He’s looking paler as well, his skin lost its warmth and life, his eyes dull and almost glassy.    
  
I try to tell myself it’s simply the after effects of his fit. Percy is usually a bit weak and achy days after, though it has been more than a week since his last and it’s never been this bad. My mind is an anxious one and cruel, providing me with all the worst scenarios. I worry every night while at work that I’ll return home to find him, alone and convulsing or worse lying unresponsive and cold, gone before I can even think to help him, before I even have a chance to save him. It costs me a night of work, unable to concentrate, I’m sent home after losing three straight games in a row. The loss of a night’s wage is distressing but I’m mostly glad to be able to return to Percy sooner, hopefully assuage my fears and put the horrible visions to rest in my head.    
  
The moment I step into the flat, I know something is wrong. London is cold and our flat is not a bastion of heat but it’s absolutely freezing inside as I walk in. No lantern is lit, despite it being too early still for Percy to be abed. “Percy?” I call out. The silence that greets me makes me shiver and with a panicked swipe I pull back the partition curtain.    
  
It’s hard to see at first, my eyes adjusting to the dark, but then I see him. Percy. He’s sitting on his side of the bed, facing away from me, stick straight and seemingly unaware of my presence. What was he doing? Had he just gotten up? Why was he sitting like that?   
  
“Perce, Percy?” I move to sit next to him, to get eyes on his face, see if he’s alright, but then he stands. His face is blank as he turns to me, eyes unseeing, jaw slack and lips parted slightly. He makes no motion to greet me and my heart sinks. He strides towards me and I am frozen with shock as he passes me, not even meeting my eyes as our shoulders touch briefly. He’s as cold as the dead.    
Suddenly I realize where he’s headed.    
  
“PERCY!” His hand reaches towards the door, looking intent on walking out into the night, bare feet and in his bed clothes. My volume seems to jolt him, and he freezes, his hand going limp at his side. Finally he turns, and I thank whatever god there is in heaven that his eyes are lucid. “Monty? What’s..?” His voice asks weakly, confusion writ on his face and then I’m rushing towards him as his legs start to shake and he looks as if he’s going to faint. My hands are on his chest, his arms, holding him up as he shakes beneath me. He’s still so cold.    
  
“Percy, what’s wrong?” I look over him, trying to find some source of his illness. There’s no mark, no fever, not even sniffles in his perfect nose. Nothing is evidently wrong, but something must be.    
  
“Monty…” He gestures to the bed weakly, unable to form the words of his request.   
  
“Right yes, bed, of course.” I lead him over and sit him down. Percy seems to sag into the ragged mattress, not laying down entirely but looking as if he could easily. I brush hair out of his face, tucking it behind and murmuring in his ear softly. “Please, darling, lay down. You’re not well.”    
  
Curiously, this seems to stir something within him. Percy sits straight once more, the chill back in the air and I realize it seems to be emanating from him. It sends a chill through my bones and worry churns in my stomach.    
  
Percy turns to me, his eyes dark. “I’m  _ quite _ alright.” His voice sounds wrong, completely void of any of it’s usual loveliness. Even when he’s angry or sick, or apathetic, it’s impossible for Percy to change the lilt to his words, the honey that coats every syllable. He sounds like someone entirely different and it scares me more than anything else I’ve ever encountered.   
  
“Percy...I was simply worried. You...you’ve been sick, and I thought…” I can’t help but stare at my lap, unable to comprehend his emotionless, un-Percy-like face. His sudden hand on my cheek makes me flinch. Badly. He touches my skin and with a jolt I cower, immediately regretting the involuntary reaction.   
  
“Monty...love...I’m sorry.”    
  
It can’t be. Is it? I look up. His voice is soft, warm once more, and I can’t help the flurry of hope that flutters in my chest. He looks like Percy again, albeit a bit pale and worn. He’s biting his lip and looking at me with the look he always gives me when this happens. A mix of worry and pity and regret, but above all, love.    
  
He holds his right hand in his left, as if he’s keeping it from raising again and doing more harm. I reach for it, glad to find it’s warm once more.    
  
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.” I raise his hand in mine, pressing it to my unscarred cheek, which I supposed was what Percy was trying to do in the first place.    
“Are you alright?” I search his face for any of the terrifying unfamiliarity that was there a moment ago.    
  
“Yes, I’m quite alright.” This time his tone is gentle and layered in honey once more. It makes the ice along my spine melt. He looks around the room, his brow furrowing, then back to me. “Why haven’t you left for work yet? It’s late.”   
  
The worry surges through me again. We had said goodbye earlier this evening. I had kissed Percy gently and promised to not be too late this time. I hadn’t known how well I could keep that promise today, but I had promised it. Did Percy not remember?   
  
“I did leave.” I speak slowly, hoping the time will catch up with Percy and he’ll remember. “It’s near eleven now Perce.” I lower his hand from my face, holding it tightly between our laps. “I came home early, do you not remember me leaving?”   
  
The confusion that rips through him is painful to see. There’s fear there as well and he shakes his head vehemently. “Monty, you...no, wait.” Percy brings his free hand up to his eyes and rubs them, as if trying to push the memories back in through there. “No, wait, of course! No, I remember, yes, of course I do!” Something in his tone makes it hard to believe him, but he comes out from under his hand and the confusion is gone, his smile wide, a small chuckle escaping his lips. “Yes, you left, we kissed, and I had dinner. I remember Monty, I do, I just forgot for a moment. I must have been sleepwalking. It was disorientation, nothing more.”   
  
I frown, the uncertainty painting a landscape across my brow. “Percy...you’ve been ill. Why are you pretending you’re fine? Please if there’s something wrong.”   
  
I nearly flinch again as what seems like a flash of anger passes through his body. But it’s gone as soon as it appears, replaced with his soft concern, and I think that maybe I had imagined it. He squeezes my hand in his. “Monty, I’m fine, really. It was just the fit. It was really bad this time and it’s keeping me captive to it’s whims a little longer. I swear I will be alright. Please don't worry.” He leans in and places a soft kiss to my forehead.    
  
I am a weakling when it comes to Percy’s kisses and I bow faster than maybe I should, giving in. “Fine. Please though, if you’re unwell, tell me. I can handle it Percy. I made a promise to you and I will not bend. I am here to stay for all eternity. I’m the man you love and I love you. If you’re dying I deserve to know.”   
  
He smiles at that, lighting up his entire face with a warmth that he hasn’t had in days. “I wouldn’t dare keep that from you. You’d murder me before I could die if I lied about it.” He shivers suddenly and his features darken once more, the circles under his eyes deep and dour. “Let’s go to bed love.” He shifts on the mattress, shuffling back to his pillow and falling heavily into it. “Unless you’d like to tell me all about why you’re home so early?” He raises an eyebrow as his head turns to look at me, a wry smile on his lips.   
  
That is not something I want to explain, especially now. “Bed!” I squeak out, clutching desperately to the excuse he’d so graciously given me. “An excellent idea, we both need our beauty rest, how else will we continue to be the finest couple in all of London?” I smile at him and he turns back over, apparently too impressed by my distraction techniques to acknowledge them. “You get cozy and I will be there in a moment. Don’t fall asleep without me.”   
  
I cross to the door to take off my boots before heading to the other side of the partition. Percy had said he had eaten dinner and that meant he usually left out a bit of bread for me to nibble on when I came home. Surprisingly, there is a plate on the small table next to the stove, but instead of a small bite left, it’s full. Percy hasn’t eaten a single bite of food. Perhaps it can be explained away with his restless stomach but why would he lie about it then? I take the bread in hand and bite it, chewing sullenly. When I return to the bed, Percy is curled away from my side, wrapped in on himself as if he’s cowering from a bear. He’s asleep, I can tell by his breathing, but when I slide in next to him, and attempt to pull him close, he shies away. A stabbing ache goes through my heart but I don’t force him. I lie as close as I can next to him, left ear up and to the air so I can hear if he needs me, and I fall into a restless sleep.    
  
-   
  
By my calculation, Percy hasn’t eaten for three days. Every night I have come home to a barely touched plate of food and a curled up and supposedly sleeping Percy. I hope against hope that he has been drinking at least, though there is no way to confirm it as he has been back at work for two days, and I sleep while he is away. Well, I attempt to sleep. I’m so worried that it is hard to find rest, and I have had no comfort at night either. Percy still sleeps turned away and will not let me closer than lying next to him, wanting nothing more than to curl against his chest and find his arms wrapped around me when I wake. There’s nothing but cold empty sheets next to me as the afternoon sun hits my eyes, finally having gotten some rest, only to realize Percy has already left for the day. It is not out of the realm of possibility for our schedules to be out of synchronization like this, although it is strange for him to leave without waking me, without saying goodbye, wishing good blessings on my day, and giving me a soft kiss. I don’t  _ actually _ need such coddling, at least not  _ every  _ day, but it is lovely and I had gotten used to it and it hurts to miss it, the worry for Percy’s health adding to the pain of its loss.    
  
Is it Percy’s illness that has brought on this change in his demeanor? Or have I done something wrong?   
  
I choose to focus on the illness, not my possible shortcomings, though Percy still denies there is nothing seriously wrong. I spend most of a sleepless morning, drafting a letter to my sister. I can hear her response already. That things must be desperate indeed for me to humble myself enough to ask for her help. But she is the only one I trust solely to tell my worries to, as far as Percy’s health goes, and though I would never say it outloud, her expertise is unparalleled among the doctors I have met, she is much more talented than her outward appearance might suggest. Surely she’ll have a solution to what is ailing Percy.   
  
-   
  
The sixth day after I gave Percy the necklace, I wake to find him in bed with me. The sun is high in the sky, flooding his face with pale light. It is near noon and yet he still sleeps. I feel a rush of fresh worry surround my heart belayed by the joy of him finally facing me. I press in closer, a hand coming up to brush away a sweaty lock from his eyes. He looks peaceful now, still pale, the circles around his eyes darker than last I saw them, his lips crusty and dry. I want to wake him, see his smile, reassure myself that all is well. It’s just like he said, only the fit’s after effects, but...doubt plagues me. It’s been far too long and Percy is keeping far too much to himself. Nothing about this sits right within my chest.    
  
He stirs suddenly, blinking awake, his brown eyes glowing golden in the sunlight. “Monty?”   
He sounds so groggy and soft, so like himself, that my breath catches in my throat before I can reply.    
  
“Yes indeed it is I, try to contain your excitement.” I give him a soft smile and run a hand across his cheek, “Are you alright darling? Did you not have the quartet today?”   
  
He shifts, resting on his back, eyes opening further as he rubs at them, his arm falling across his forehead and resting there. He sighs. “I have a headache today, nothing more, thought it best to stay in. It’s supposed to snow as well. Not as much money to be made.” He turns to glance at me, the light back in his eyes. “I’ll be alright though Monty, nothing to worry about.” He reaches a hand out across the bed between us. “Now I can lay with you in bed all day. It has been a while hasn’t it?”   
  
Perhaps I have simply been dreaming these past few days and all I had witnessed were but nightmares. Percy pulls me in once more with his honeyed words and it seems as if he speaks the truth. All will be alright now that I am allowed in his arms once more.    
  
“I have missed you.” I take his hand, holding it tight like a lifeline. It’s cold still and I glance over his body. He’s wrapped tight in the blanket, and is wearing his threadbare sweater over his bedclothes, the neck pulled up as far as it can be. He still shivers slightly despite this. As much as I want to stay in bed and pull him close, an instinct to mother takes over and I slide out from under the cover. I have never been particularly maternal but when one’s heart lies before you wanting for comfort, it is hard to deny them anything.    
  
“Tea.” I say definitively. “And breakfast. That’s what we need. Make yourself as comfortable as possible and I shall bring a spread to you.”   
  
“Monty, no.” He whines slightly, but there’s a fond smile on his face. “Really, I’m alright, you needn't fuss.”   
  
“Nonsense!” I cross behind the curtain and start warming the stove. “In sickness and in health and all that, it’s what I ought to do.”   
  
“We’re not even  _ married _ .” Percy chuckles from the bed and I can’t help but smile myself. It is good to hear his laugh.   
  
“Might as well be.” I retort, filling our humble kettle with water and tea leaves. “Living together in sin has damned us already, I’ll bloody call you my husband if I like, God strike me down where I stand!” The stove is hot enough and I set to heating the cold bread. “Maybe I’ll even buy you a beautiful ring to go with your necklace, parade you around as my  _ particular _ friend but be thinking of all the things I want to do to you in the privacy of our marriage bed. ” There’s no response this time and a chill runs through me, the room suddenly feeling colder than before.    
  
“Perce?” I set the tea kettle down on the stove and poke around the curtain, hoping Percy’s just fallen back asleep or something.    
  
Something is definitely wrong. Percy faces away from me, but I can feel the energy rolling off him in waves. It’s a feeling I have become accustomed to, something I have learned to recognize and avoid at all costs. Percy is angry. Angry at me. The blood red heat of it hits me in the chest as I come around the curtain and it makes me stop. It makes every bone in my body melt and my first idea is to run, run and hide and hope that Percy doesn’t find me. The terror fills my veins and I’m ashamed to admit I step back. Why? How could I think that Percy would ever hurt me? Never in a million years had I thought I would feel like this with him. Not my sweet, loving, gentle Percy.    
  
With a pounding heart screaming at me to leave, I stay. I stand straight and face him. I can’t leave him. Something is terribly wrong and I am the only one who can fix it, even if I get hurt in the process. “Percy?” I ask cautiously, my traitorous voice trembling. “Is there something the matter darling? Can I help in some way?”    
  
He suddenly sits up, throwing the blanket off of him, his head snapping in my direction and I can’t help my instinct to flinch. I don’t recognize the expression he holds, I’ve never seen him this angry, frustrated even perhaps. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what he’s feeling but he looks like he might murder the next person who gets remotely close to his hands, not one iota of kindness in his furrowed brow.   
  
“You can  _ help _ ,” He replies, his voice mocking my own soft one, “,by ceasing your incessant prattling. Dear  _ Lord  _ didn’t anyone teach you to shut your mouth when you had nothing intelligent to say?”

  
It stings worse than a slap and I reel back slightly as if I had been struck. “Percy….” I’m at a loss of what to say, so gobsmacked by the harsh words that are so unlike anything Percy has ever said. Even in our unkind but earned jabs against the horrid Richard Peele. “I am truly sorry if I offended you, I only…”   
“Monty...just…” Percy groans and grabs at his head, rubbing a thumb into his temple. I move forward, not heeding the fear thrumming in my throat.    
  
“Percy, please, let me help.” I sit tentatively on the bed but don’t reach towards him, uncertain of his reaction.   
  
He looks up after a moment and the sunkenness of his eyes and gaunt hollowness of his once full face is immediately apparent. Was he that far gone when he woke? Has the light shifted to make him appear as a ghoul? He shakes his head and I can no longer feel the brilliant fire of his vexation. There’s simple weariness left and he lays back upon his pillow, burying his head.   
  
“Monty...I’m sorry.” His apology sounds sincere, his voice soft once more. “This headache….I didn’t mean-”   
  
“It’s alright.” I stop him, realizing I mean it wholly. Percy was ill. I couldn’t blame him for what he said or did. It was not the real Percy. I place a tentative hand on his shoulder, over the blanket. “Just rest. I’ll make the tea. That’s all you need. Rest and tea and then all will be well.”   
  
He’s silent a moment and then he replies quietly. “Yes. All will be well.”   
  
I stand, leaving him to his quiet dark beneath the blanket, my gut digging a well within itself, and return to the stove. The tea boils in the silence, the sharp whistle cutting into it like a dagger. I bring a cup and a plate of bread to Percy’s bedside but the soft rise and fall of the blanket tells me he’s asleep. Good. The rest will do him good. The tea will be there when he wakes. I only hope that he will be my dear agreeable Percy when he does, and not this stranger who’s fallen asleep in our bed.    
  
-   
  
Percy naps most of the day. He’s like a stone, unmoving and quiet curled into a defensive ball once more. I also try to rest but the absence of his usual warmth around me leaves me tossing side to side, so I get up after just a little while. I think about writing Felicity another letter, but seeing as I have yet to hear her reply to the first, it seems a futile effort. Instead I idle away a few hours reading one of the few books we possess, though I end up reading several sentences over and over, my mind preoccupied. I do find myself finally lost in the rather inane tale of a man finding his fortune in the big city and I almost don’t hear the rustle of sheets, my bad ear turned to the bed.   
  
I do look up when I see Percy’s shadow pass me by, pushing aside the curtain with a sudden force, nearly tearing it from its mooring and walking stiffly to the stovetop, clutching on to the now cold kettle. “Percy?” I stand, and cross to his side, wary of his earlier state but wanting to make certain that he wasn’t about to injure himself. He lifts the kettle a few times, up and down and then shakes his head, placing it back where it came from. His hand then wanders to the side of the stove, grabbing on to the iron poker with a fierce grip and hefting it upwards like a sword.    
  
“Percy! What are you-” The poker comes down, just past my shoulder and I dodge, though there isn’t a lot of space to move to and I nearly collide with the wall. “Hey, Percy!” He doesn’t seem to hear me, or in fact to have noticed me at all and I realize as he turns, poker in hand raised like a weapon that his eyes are blank once more. I reach for his shoulder as he passes, knowing now that he still sleeps, trying to wrack my brain for any memory of him having a history of sleepwalking. With my touch he seems to jolt and the arm raised in defense lowers, going slack and dropping the poker to the ground. He turns to me, his eyes alive again, tired confusion swimming across his face.   
  
“Monty...I...am I asleep?”    
  
I’m grateful that there is not a hint of the malice of earlier but his condition is still nonsensical.    
“You  _ were  _ asleep. You should still be sleeping. Here darling, please.” I wrap arms around him and guide him back to the bed, sitting him down carefully and helping him lay back down. “Rest Perce, go back to sleep. Everything will be alright.”    
  
He relaxes instantly, his eyes closing easily and I breathe a sigh of relief at the relative ease of that interaction. I tuck the blanket back around him and he curls once more into his solitary ball. I watch as his breaths even out and he’s asleep again. I was no doctor and I had not read much on the subject of human health as Felicity had but this was not even in the realm of normal. I had to figure out what was ailing Percy and soon.   
  
Reluctantly I left for work as he still slept later that night. We needed the money, otherwise not even hell itself would have dragged me away from him. Despite my worry, the night is productive and when I arrive home, Percy is still sleeping soundly. I fall into bed next to him and reach a hand out to rest along his back, if just to feel him still breathing as I fall into a sleep plagued with nightmares.    
  
-   
  
Several letters arrive the next day. I am alone, Percy despite my protestations has gone to work. When I see who the letters are from, I am secretly thankful to be able to read them in solitude. The first is a reply from Felicity, at last! Noting the long reply with a hopeful heart, my eyes skim the neat penmanship. The longer I read the more despair grips me. She does not know the exact cause of Percy’s strange conditions, though she unhelpfully lists the dozen or so things it could possibly be, nothing pinpointing all of his symptoms at once. I should be more grateful. To even have this small amount of advice and a sister who can be helpful in this regard in the first place, but the non answers vex me. Why couldn’t it be simple? Why couldn’t she give me exact, clear, concise directions on how to fix everything? To heal whatever was wrong? To bring my Percy back to me?    
  
I throw the letter in the fire, regretting the action instantly as I watch it go up. I could have tried some of her suggestions, even if in my heart I knew they weren’t the right ones. I sigh heavily. Though I doubted they would know much more than Felicity, perhaps I could convince Percy to go to an actual doctor. The cost would be worth it to find a cure, though I doubted Percy would think so. Schemes forming in my head of how to trick Percy to the doctor’s, including a lengthy one involving several wigs and a donkey cart, I rip open the second letter. Reading almost absently, my heart jolts and I have to give myself a moment to read it over once more, not believing the words written there. It couldn’t be true, but it fell perfectly into place among Percy’s other terrifying new quirks, and the reality of what was happening sunk fully into my heart.    
  


-   
  
I held onto the letter all afternoon, the paper wrinkling and tearing beyond repair, waiting for the moment Percy would walk through the door, the moment I would either figure out the truth or have my whole world come crashing down around me.   
  
I hear the door swing open and I look up from the chair by the window, clutching onto the ruined letter like it could give me the strength I needed to confront him. “You’ve returned. Good. I’m glad to see you haven’t gallivanted off to some filthy pub or whore’s den.” I stand, my legs only shaking slightly.   
  
Percy is just taking off his boots and he looks over his shoulder, light confusion knitting his brow. “What? Monty, what are you on about?” The slight laugh in his voice nearly gives me pause, it’s so close to the old Percy that for a moment I think I’ve imagined everything. But then I feel the paper rough in my hand and I hold my ground.   
  
“I don’t actually know where you’ve been most days, when you say you’re playing with the quartet. A whore’s den might be the least of my worries really.” Before I can lose my resolve I hold out the letter for him to see, fingers gripping it tightly. “Percy, you haven’t been with the musician lads for at least three days. They wrote. Wondering where you’ve been. If you’ve been ill. They’re worried.” My voice cracks on the last word, my own worry choking my throat. I meet his eyes and swallow thickly. “Where have you been?”    
  
He regards me and for a moment I see a flash of the real Percy. The Percy that loves me. The Percy that plays his violin so sweetly and treats every animal he meets with as much kindness as a friend. The Percy who holds me and tells me I’m perfect, even when I’m not and the Percy that never, ever lies. Then he goes cold, turning away, setting his violin case on the ground roughly. “Nowhere. Why do you care?” He shrugs and turns back to the wall. “Where I go and what I do is my own business. I shouldn't bother with telling anyone else.”   
  
The blow sinks into my gut, more painful than a lie, more painful than having the side of my face, my _ entire ear _ blown off. This wasn’t happening. This could not be real.    
  
“Percy!” I cry out with shock, dismay….this wasn’t real. “What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” My hand stretches out on it’s own, grasping on to his shoulder, trying to turn him back around. He had to look at me, I had to see his face fully, this couldn’t really be Percy!   
  
He shrugs me off with a shove and whips around. I can’t hold my ground, his presence too threatening, his hand raised slightly like he’s going to strike. I stumble back and he growls, “Leave it Monty! You’re always poking your nose where you don’t belong. Stay out of trouble for once and behave!”    
  
He reminds me so much of my father, so far from how Percy is, that for a moment I see my father standing there instead of him. I blink and the vision is gone but the despair still strips my heart bare. “No, no, Percy, this isn’t you, please...this can’t be...you’re not yourself, you’re ill.”   
  
Percy gives me a skeptical look and rolls his shoulders, stretching out his arms casually as he smirks. “I’m feeling quite well actually. More spritely than I have in years. Free of something perhaps, someone hanging on my shoulders, weighing me down.” He flexes his thin wrists as if he’s casting off a bit of mud. “I feel much better without that burden.”   
  
“Burden?” I bristle. The initial shock of this living nightmare had made its way through my body and what was left in its wake was burning rage. Percy and I had been through every fight and hurt through the years, had said and done terrible things in our childish anger, had gone through an abso-bloody-lutely hellish tour together and had come out the other side stronger and closer than ever. He knew how much pain I held within my small chest and I knew his. He was my best friend and first love and the most important person in my life. I would gladly give my life for his and nearly had on multiple occasions. We were broken pieces that fit perfectly together and in this moment, and any other, I would not allow anything to smash us apart. Not even Percy himself.    
  
I rush forward and grab at the collar of his stupidly adorable sweater, my fingers catching in the holes. “Burden?” I repeat, the anger ripping at my vocal chords. “You know what that word means to me. At least, Percy knows. You’re not him. He would never say that, not even if he was mad! What have you done with Percy!” I’m inches from his face, one I know so well and can’t recognize at all right now. My fingers grip tighter and I feel a strange heat. It’s not from my own cheeks, though I must look a fright right now the fear and rage boiling together under my skin. No, it’s coming from Percy. From his sweater? No, from his neck.    
  
Without hesitation I pull the collar down away from his skin. He tries to push me away but fear has made me stronger and I keep a hold on his clothes. “Stop! What are you doing! Don’t!” He seems to calm as the necklace around his neck is exposed, a silent stillness falling between us.   
  
It doesn’t lie like it should, it’s plastered to his skin, stuck on as if it had grown there, the bright redness around it unnatural and painful looking. It’s raw and ragged, like a burn and as I stare I realize the heat is still rising, clouding the air around us and pressing the necklace further into Percy’s body. It’s imbedding itself, burning him from the outside in, almost as if it wants to be absorbed, and Percy is  _ letting  _ it in. How long had this been happening? Why hadn’t he said anything? Did it not hurt him at all?   
“Monty, stop, don’t look.” My eyes flash up to his and he looks almost apologetic, a soft pain there that wasn’t before, not because of the necklace, but because I’m seeing it.    
  
“Percy, you have to take it off….you can’t let it…” I say the obvious thing, thinking it logical but he cries out, cutting me off.   
  
“No! Don’t!” He tries to pull away and for a fleeting second my hold on him slackens, surprise at his reaction making me slow to respond. Everything falls into place and I know without a doubt that this, the necklace, the gift I had given him, the thing that was hurting him without cause,  _ this _ was the reason for his illness, the strange behavior, everything. I had been the one to bring it to him, foolishly thinking I could do something kind, and I had nearly ruined everything. What else was new? I could make it right though, I  _ had  _ to make it right. With a swift return to my senses, I grab at him once more, maintaining my grip and I snatch at the necklace. My fingers dig under it, prying it from his skin and pulling it as hard as I am able.    
  
There’s a terrible cry, from Percy, and then the necklace snaps, falling to pieces in my hands, clattering to the ground around us.    
  
Everything is completely still. Then a flash lights up the flat engulfing everything in its brilliance, bright blue and burning, crashing out in a wave. In an instant it’s sucked back in, pulsing into Percy and jolting his body as he slumps forward.    
  
“Percy!” Before I can rush forward and grab him, his body twists slowly upward, the glow surrounding him and lifting him up. He’s inexplicably hovering before me, feet inches from the ground like some kind of damned angel and then the glow disappears and he’s standing, his head still tilted down.    
  
I say nothing, afraid that I’ve possibly died and this is all some great bloody joke on God’s part, giving me a good ribbing before sending me plummeting to hell. But then Percy lifts his head and I know this is an earthly torture. Not even the person responsible for Mass on Sunday could think of something this horrible.    
  
His eyes glow with that burning blue, and as he meets my eyes all I can feel is pure irate fury, stronger than anything my father had ever thrown my way. His features are twisted, curling and cruel and alien to me, his beautiful face torn apart and unmade in unearthly horror.   
  
“Percy….” The only word I can manage. His name, precious and pure, no longer belonging to the strange creature in front of me.    
  
He speaks, his voice foreign, ghastly and laced with a wailing echo, the words fiendish.    
  
“Is that this boy’s name? Hmmm, plain and dull really. Oh well, he won’t be needing it any longer.”    
  
The spectre glances around the room, disgust evident on its face. “I shall take my leave of this disparaging place. Farewell.”   
  
“Wait!” The cry strangles out of me. “W-what do you mean? Where- where are you taking him?”   
  
The creature seems amused. “Taking  _ him?  _ Oh no, I’m not taking  _ him  _ anywhere. He is no more. What was his is mine. If anything, he is taking  _ me _ . Giving me life on this earthly plain once more. A kind gesture of him really, to put on the necklace and sacrifice himself.” He spares a look at Percy, looking down. “Young and handsome too, a very good sacrifice indeed. Must not have had much to live for.”    
  
It turns without further explanation, moving Percy’s feet, Percy’s arm, reaching for the door.    
  
It was going to take Percy, was going to take him away. Percy wasn’t a sacrifice, but I had given him without knowing and now he was going to be ripped away from me forever. I couldn’t let it, it couldn’t have the one good thing in my life. Without Percy all I had left was a broken home, a terrible childhood, scars upon scars, and a waste of a life. Good for nothing, piece of garbage, just like my father had called me all these years. Just like I had thought of myself.    
Maybe it was what I deserved? Percy was all the good parts of me, what had I done to earn him? Years of selfishness and not caring for anyone but myself and I thought I was owed a happy ending? This was the fair ending, what I truly deserved and I had only staved it off awhile, pretending I got to live my dream with Percy for the rest of my life.    
  
I fall to my knees as the demon carries Percy’s body across the room, his footfalls heavy, reverberating through the floor.    
  
“Please…” The word falls from my lips. “Please don’t take him.” Soft, desperate tears are streaming down my face but I hardly notice. I can’t let him go, even if it is what should happen. I may be good for nothing but I am stubborn to a fault, and what Felicity calls a perfectly whiny nuisance when I don’t get my way. If my terrible attitude is what brought me here, it’s what will get me out of it. I’d sooner let the spectre take me than force Percy to suffer for my sins. “He’s my heart,” I plead with every fiber of my being, hoping there’s an ounce of humanity left in this horrible monster. “He didn’t know, I didn’t know, about the necklace, I can’t let you take him. I’m no good without him and he is everything perfect and right with this world. Please, don’t take him from me. I love him. I’ll do anything for you to let him go.”   
  
It looks as though the monster will not wield, continuing in his slow agonizing journey to the door and then something makes him pause. A wicked grin lights up it’s borrowed face as it turns to stare at me. “ _ Anything?” _ _   
_ _   
_ It seems a dangerous word, especially on his lips, but I latch on to the remaining hope I have in his attention. “Yes. Anything you want. I’ll give it freely if you let him go. Without harm.” I try and wipe at the tears still falling embarrassingly down my cheeks and only really manage to make my face even more wet.    
It spins back around fully, eyes brighter, burning dangerously with ghostly light. “I do love a good game. Do you play many games?”   
  
The question catches me off guard. “What? I mean, yes..? I’m sorry, what does this have to do with anything?” Perhaps a rather impertinent response to what seems to be a malevolent ghost but I never really was one for tact.    
  
It laughs, a cold, stinging sound, filling the flat. “Well if you know your way around a card game, it could mean everything.” He moves Percy languidly over to the small table, taking a seat in the only chair. “I was an expert card player my boy, when I was alive, and surprisingly there aren’t many decks just laying around hell. Nor many good players. They’re all incorrigible cheats. Can’t abide cheaters.” He looks to me, still on the floor, an eyebrow raised in such a Percy like way that I have to blink. “I’ll tell you what…” He smiles again and the illusion of it still being Percy dissipates. “...you give me a fair game and you win, I’ll return your precious  _ boy  _ to you.”   
  
I immediately grasp on to his offer, standing with impossible speed, about to agree before I hear Percy in my brain.  _ Monty...think. _ He’s right of course. I have to think this through, consider all the possibilities. Don’t let your emotions control your actions Monty.    
  
“And if I lose?” I ask, trying to keep the shake out of my voice.   
  
The spectre doesn’t bat an eye. “Why, then I get your body as well of course. A fair wager I think, a body for a body.” He glances me up and down. “Though I don’t know how equal of a trade it is.”   
  
Something in me screams to fight back against the insult but I hold it back. It’s entirely ridiculous that I am even gambling with a ghost in the first place, better not to start an argument with it. Besides, he is correct in one thing. Percy is gorgeous. One of a kind, not replaceable or matched in looks. Even by myself. If a ghost wanted to call me ugly in comparison to him, I would take it.    
  
The wager was large. Only a fool, or someone incredibly lucky would gamble with his life in a game of cards. I was neither a fool, though some might say otherwise, nor lucky, but I was good at cards. My life might be worthless, but I was good for something, and it just might save Percy’s life. It was the least I could give him in return for saving mine, so many times over the years. Without Percy I would not be here, so might as well gamble my life for his. Make it worth something.    
  
I nod. “I agree.” With a final wipe at my face I cross to the table, standing and still just barely towering over Percy’s sitting height. I revel in the small victory of a few inches. I take up the cards strewn on the table, shuffling them clumsily. “What kind of game do you want to play? Old Maid?” If I was going to risk everything, I was going to use every advantage at my disposal, including pretending to know nothing of cards.    
  
“Oh, this is going to be  _ great  _ fun.” Not-Percy grins evilly and with a silent prayer to the gods of luck and idiocy, I start to deal.   
  
Describing every move of every card in a game is only ever boring in mother’s dreadful romance books, so I’ll spare you the exact details, but when the ghost said he was an expert he was not lying. The cards move fast and any strategy I have of playing dumb goes quickly out the window, only buying me a few hands of surprise on his part at the beginning. I can only concentrate on winning after that, a few extra hands taken by him pinning my heart to my throat. The anticipation and tension builds up to the last hand and I try to keep the worry off my face.  _ Control your emotions Monty _ . We’re all tied. If I lose now, I lose everything.    
  
The ghost has kept a satisfied smile on Percy’s lips the entire time, betraying nothing. Even now, as we draw final hands, his countenance is calm. I can’t help but wipe at the sweat on my forehead, short curls clinging to my skin damply. Hopeful he takes it as a sign of concentration and it doesn't convey the terror that grips my chest. My hand trembles slightly as I draw the final card and then everything goes blindly bright around me. It’s like being drunk but better, my whole body relaxing and my head floating away from me in ecstasy. I have it. I have the winning card. I know it. I have to have it.    
  
I look across at the monster and he’s still smiling. Doubt creeps through my ecstasy. Why would he be smiling? Does he have a better hand? Does he have a trick up his sleeve, hidden behind all his showmanship? What if he means to take us both, even if I do win? Would he be that dastardly?    
  
I close my eyes and Percy floats into my brain, pushing every other thought away.    
“Trust yourself Monty. I believe in you, even if you are an idiot.” He smiles and I open my eyes, smiling myself.    
  
“Well?” The spectre asks, raising that damn eyebrow again. “What is your hand?”   
  
I look at my cards and then with a loudly beating heart lay them bare.    
  
He looks down at my hand and then back at me and slowly his reaction blossoms across Percy’s features. A sneer starts at his lips, curling them back as they part, his eyes narrowing and flashing with renewed fire. He bares Percy’s beautiful teeth, now marred with dark inky blackness and releases a terrible sound. “Noooooooooooooo-arrrrrrr!” His displeasure transforms into a cry of rage and the blue surrounds him once more in an uncontrollable blaze. I close my eyes against it, unable to watch as it burns bright and his voice echoes with horrendous volume around me.    
  
As soon as it begins, it ends, the light penetrating my eyelids disappearing and the anguished wail subsiding into nothing.    
  
  
It takes me a minute, fear coursing through me that I had made a mistake, that he had taken Percy and when I opened my eyes I would be alone but I hear a soft breath and when I dare to look he’s there. Percy sits across from me, whole and complete, the glow gone, his eyes normal and most importantly looking at me with recognition, albeit through a wave of tears.    
  
“Monty…” His voice wavers and I rush to him, my heart swelling with unbelievable joy. My hands hold him, pulling his close to my chest and keeping him there in my arms, never wanting to let go. “Monty...Monty…” He keeps repeating my name, muffled and quiet but entirely him, his own voice, his own words. It’s a moment before he settles enough for me to pull away and I sink down, our eyes meeting as I kneel in front of him, hands still around his neck.    
  
“Percy…” I wipe at his tears, unable to stop grinning like a madman as I stare at him, half believing I’m still in a dream. “I’m so sorry-”   
  
He shakes his head. “No, no none of that Monty.” He smiles now too. “You didn’t know. It isn’t your fault. You  _ saved  _ me.” He meets my eyes and I feel like I’m melting. “Say it, you have to or you won’t believe it, come on.”   
  
“What...I..” He takes me off guard and I sputter. I can’t deny him, not ever, so I say softly. “I saved you.”   
  
He nods, laughing happily now. “You did, you brilliant bastard. You abso-bloody-lutely did!”   
  
His laugh sweeps me up and I pull him close, laughing into his hair and pressing into his very real, very there, very saved by me, body. “I beat a ghost at cards!” I laugh harder at the ridiculousness of it all and Percy laughs with me. We fall into each other, spent as the laughter dies down and I brush a hand through his curls, treasuring every touch. “I couldn’t lose you darling.”   
  
I feel his hand on my back, rubbing lightly and hear him, the smile evident in his voice. “You’ll never lose me love.” He pulls away, hands holding on to my shoulders and I see those brilliant eyes again. I’ll never tire of seeing them. “Especially when you’re so good at cards!” His smile fills my entire heart.   
  
“Percy?” I ask, feeling the weight of all that had happened settle in my bones, the weariness pulling at me.    
  
“Yes Monty?” He replies with his honeyed lilt.   
  
“When I propose to you, don’t let me give you a ring. I’m serious. No jewelry. Ever again.”   
  
“I suppose I’ll just have to give  _ you  _ a ring when  _ I  _ propose.” There’s not a hint of teasing in his voice. “And you can just simply give me a kiss and a resounding yes.”    
  
My melted heart will never be solid again if Percy has anything to say about it.   
  
“I think I can manage that darling. Even if I am an idiot.”   
  
  



End file.
